Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a big relief for common peopleby exempting more than half of the electricity consumers from FuelAdjustment Charges.
Talking to media in Doha on Tuesday, he said there are around 30 millionelectricity consumers in Pakistan out of which 17.1 million will beexempted from the FAC, while a strategy to provide relief to rest of theusers will also be evolved.
Shehbaz Sharif said that 300,000 agricultural tube wells will also beexempted from the Fuel Adjustment Charges. He said Minister for PowerKhurram Dastgir Khan will formally announce a mechanism in this regard.
The Prime Minister said FAC is linked with the fluctuation in the prices offuel in the international market. He said increased fuel prices in theinternational market in June this year led to higher electricity bills thatmonth.
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The Prime Minister said the government has already withdrawn fixed taxlevied on traders. He said there will be gap of 42 billion rupees afterrepealing this tax and this gap will be filled through other means insteadof burdening the small traders. He said this tax was levied on smallbusinessmen to save them from blackmailing of various departments, butoutcome of this taxation was not good.
Shehbaz Sharif said increasing traders’ problems is against the spirit andvision of the present government. He said a committee has been constitutedto probe this matter and fix the responsibility.
